COLUMBIA — It was clear something was very, very wrong.
South Carolina was not going to wait for it to get any worse.
Baseball coach Paul Mainieri stepped down on March 21, a stunning resolution to what was supposed to be the program’s salvation. Imported after three years of a medically required retirement following a Hall of Fame career at LSU, Notre Dame, Air Force and St. Thomas, Mainieri was supposed to be the missing piece to lift the Gamecocks past a ceiling of NCAA regional appearances and occasional trip to the super regionals and get USC back to the College World Series glory of 2010-12.
Instead, Mainieri guided the program to depths it’s never been. The Gamecocks lost more games in 2025 than they had in any of the program’s 120 previous seasons and set a program record by losing 24 of 30 conference games. USC missed the postseason for the fifth time in the last 10 chances last year, and starting 12-11, 0-4 SEC this year after a 22-6 run-ruled loss to Arkansas at home on March 20, wasn’t trending to make it this year.
“Jeremiah Donati and I have agreed that the baseball program will be better served with new leadership. I take full responsibility for the win/loss record of the baseball program over the 80 games I have served as head coach,” Mainieri said in a statement. “I want to make it clear that Ray Tanner, Jeremiah Donati, President (Michael) Amiridis and the university leadership have supported me and the baseball program throughout my tenure. In short, I did not get the job done at a level that I expected, or the university deserves.”
Associate head coach Monte Lee has been named interim head coach. Pitching coach Terry Rooney, Mainieri’s right-hand man, remains on staff.
Mainieri was owed at least $3.9 million on his buyout after this season if he were fired, and nothing if he resigned. A USC athletics department employee said that USC will not be sharing buyout information at this time.
The experiment to hire a man who became Division I’s active wins leader and led LSU to a national championship (2009, a year before the Gamecocks won their first of two straight) dearly cost the program. Former athletic director Ray Tanner, who coached those magnificent USC teams, took a third strike in coaches he hired to replace him after Chad Holbrook and Mark Kingston likewise failed to return the Gamecocks to previous heights.
“After a conversation this morning with coach Mainieri, we agreed that it would be in the best interest of the program that we part ways at this time. I appreciate everything Paul has poured into our student-athletes and our program, not just at South Carolina, but throughout his career. He is a Hall-of-Fame coach and a world-class individual, and we wish him and his family all the best,” Donati said in a statement.
The Gamecocks were not expected to be a College World Series team in 2025, but with Mainieri’s influence and a significant upgrade in NIL money to work the transfer portal, USC was expected to reach the program’s minimum: A berth in the NCAA Tournament. That became a pipe dream at the season’s midpoint.
One game over .500 and winless in SEC play this year, it didn’t trend to become much better.
Blowouts and series sweeps were common. Fundamental lapses and poor hitting were the norm. USC gave up 54 runs in a span of three games late in the 2025 season, the only saving grace that a 24-2 loss to Florida wasn’t the worst loss in program history (30-7 to Arkansas, 1997).
With a substantial upgrade in funding for this year’s team, Mainieri mostly bought a new roster. Yet the same problems were apparent — a clear disconnect in offensive approach between Mainieri and associate head coach Monte Lee, whose job is to coach the hitters, and distrust between the staff to the players.
The Gamecocks are one of the worst teams in the SEC in the statistics, and record. With still time to save the season and at least become a cohesive squad, Donati pulled the trigger.
Lee coached his first game hours after Mainieri departed. The Gamecocks lost 3-2 to Arkansas in 10 innings after committing an error that would have won the game, 2-1, in the ninth.
